My Money: JA brings finances, business to class

When chartered accountant Eric Ritosa goes into a classroom to talk students about managing their money he’s often blown away by their computer skills and knowledge of how to buy things online.

“They are almost educating me, which is a scary thought,” says the tax specialist with KPMG in Windsor. That’s because 25-year-old Ritosa is plenty familiar with computers and using financial tools on the Internet.

What the Grade 7 students he worked with last year were still figuring out is budgeting and the options for saving money, which Ritosa walked them through in a one-day visit to their classrooms that included discussions, activities and games.

He was thrilled when one teacher told him some of the most enthusiastic participants in her class were students who were struggling to pay attention during academic courses.

“It wasn’t long ago I was there and I try to put myself in their position,” Ritosa said.

The Tecumseh native is one of 80 Junior Achievement volunteers in Windsor and Essex County who are helping to bring financial, workplace and entrepreneurial lessons to the classroom.

“I’d be the first to admit I never knew about any of this in high school,” he said.

That is probably because Junior Achievement, which relies on corporate sponsors, donations and volunteers to carry out its programs, disappeared from the region for seven years after a bungled reorganization.

It returned two years ago and is slowly ramping up its volunteer base and classroom offerings, said Barb Smith, president and CEO of Junior Achievement of South Western Ontario.

This school year it is offering volunteers to go into Grade 4, 7 and 8 classes to present its programs. It is aiming to have an office at the Downtown Windsor Business Accelerator by early next year and hopes to have an after school program for high school students in place by late 2013, Smith said.

The high school program is aimed at helping students hone their business and entrepreneurial skills by setting up and running a company over 20 weeks.

“If the kids come out one year, they usually come out for three years,” said Smith, a Chatham resident who started her involvement with Junior Achievement through the company program in high school. Through it she earned a trip to the organization’s annual Next Generation Leaders Forum, which inspired her further, she said.

Now she’s the mother of two young children who is starting to see the value of financial and business skills for the next generation.

While most students’ involvement with Junior Achievement is brief, they can all benefit from the basic skills it provides. A new emphasis in Ontario on working financial literacy into the curriculum means its programs are more relevant than ever, Smith said.

It reached 4,300 students in Southwestern Ontario during the past school year, including 1,200 in Windsor and Essex County.

Haven’t heard about it at your child’s school? Ask, suggests Smith. Junior Achievement provides the information to the local school boards, which pass it on to the schools. Then it is up to teachers to request a visit to their classroom.

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.